A Little Extra
by KaeCooks
Summary: Tag to 8x11 - Brett and Casey expand on their conversation from Firehouse 20. What will result from it? How do they handle it? Read to learn more.
1. A Little Extra

**Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to NBC, Derek Haas, Michael Brandt and everyone else who rightfully owns the Chicago Fire universe. I'm just playing with them.****Tag to 8x11 "Where We End Up." As anyone who saw the episode will realize, the set up for this story is taken directly from that episode.**

* * *

While Firehouse 51 was being fumigated, headquarters assigned everyone to base out of Firehouse 20.

Between calls, Brett went looking for Casey. Rounding the back of a firetruck, she found him.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," she began.

Casey glanced at her. "No, please. Join me. I'm just filling out paperwork." He gestured for her to have a seat beside him.

She obliged. "I wanted to let you know I followed up on that girl we took to Med this morning from the car fire."

Casey looked up from his report and inquired, "How is she?"

Brett quickly recounted what April had told her about the girl, which Casey was pleased to hear. She paused, her eyes never leaving his, debating how to say what she wanted to next. "It's funny…" Casey furrowed his brow as she continued, "One of the first things you learn at the academy is you get the patient to the hospital as best you can and you don't look back, that it's the only way to survive mentally, but as soon as I started at 51, I noticed nobody follows that rule here, especially you." Casey laughed a bit. Brett smiled at him. "I mean you - you follow up. You do more whenever you can, so when I found out she was going to be okay, I knew how much it would mean to you."

Casey was touched by Brett's thoughtfulness. He smiled at her, grateful that she was so open with him. Her friendship meant the world to him, especially after Gabby left. Since then, the two had grown even closer. He treasured what they had, but there was a part of him that wanted more. It was then he realized just how long they'd held each others' eyes, and suddenly it felt too intimate. He looked away and responded meekly, "Well, it's why we all do the job, right?"

She nodded, "It is, but you're a little extra that way."

Casey cocked his head at her, eyebrows raised, a question on his lips. Before he had the chance to voice it, however, the bells went off and the two of them jumped up, running to their respective rigs.

* * *

Around an hour later, everyone pulled back into Firehouse 20. They stripped their gear and scattered. Casey glanced around, looking for Brett. There were many things he wanted to add to their conversation from before the call. He heard her laugh float from the back of the ambulance, his head snapping toward it. He saw Foster hop out of the back, a big smile on her lips. Clearly the two were joking around about something. He decided to try to talk to Brett later, and walked off to find a place to work on his reports.

* * *

Shift ended four hours later. Casey again went in search of Brett, hoping to talk to her away from the others. He found her chatting with Kidd and Foster. She had her back to him. The other two women shared a look, then hurriedly found reasons to get going home. Brett, a little shocked, sighed. "Okay bye, I guess."

"Hey," Casey said softly.

Brett turned around. When she saw Matt, the other two disappearing suddenly made more sense. "Hey yourself," she replied.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"They, uh, they think," Brett started, but then thought better of it, finishing, "actually, it was nothing." Stella and Emily were convinced that she and Matt were budding a romance. While she wouldn't be opposed to that, she also wanted him to be the one to initiate it. They'd both been through so much, and she treasured his friendship above everything else.

"I was thinking about going for some breakfast, but it's weird going out by myself. Would you maybe want to come along?"

"You know I can't turn down food!" Brett said, beaming. Cruz is probably waiting in the car for me. Let me tell him to go on without me and I'll jump in with you, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, that's great." Casey couldn't help the smile spreading across his face as he walked to his truck while Brett went to talk to Cruz.

A couple minutes later, Sylvie jumped in Matt's truck and buckled up. "Where to, Captain?"

Matt smirked at her use of his title. "I was thinking IHOP or something simple like that."

"Sounds good to me! I'm starving!"

On the drive, they kept the conversation light. It wasn't long before they arrived at the restaurant and went inside. They spent the meal joking around and talking about how glad they were that tensions between Firehouses 51 and 20 had finally resolved. It wasn't until they were almost home that Matt dared to let the conversation turn deeper.

He took a deep breath. Sylvie turned to look at him. "What's on your mind, Matt?"

Well, he thought, it's now or never. "You, actually."

Sylvie gasped, then laughed. "Me?"

He met her eyes. "Yeah."

She gave him a questioning look, tilting her head to one side. He found a parking spot in front of the apartment she shared with Cruz.

"Um, do you want to come inside?" She asked. Upon seeing his hesitation, she continued, "it's okay, Joe went to spend the weekend at Chloe's."

He smiled at her and shut off the truck. When they got inside, Sylvie locked the door behind them and kicked her shoes off.

"Make yourself at home," she said, then pointed. "The bathroom is over there. I'm going to grab a drink. Do you want anything?"

Matt smiled as she rambled off a list of drinks and he made his pick before slipping off to use the restroom. When he came back, Sylvie was sitting to one side of the couch. He plopped down on the other side and grabbed his drink.

"So, Matt, why was I on your mind?" Sylvie ventured.

"I - I, uh," Matt took a sip, trying to find the right words. "I was thinking about what you said about me being a little extra."

"What about it?"

"It's just… you are too, you know? You take time and you notice people and how they're feeling. You care." He scooted closer to her and his eyes found hers. "Sylvie, you are so important to me. You've helped me through so much, especially when Gabby left. You were always there for me and I - I don't know where I'd be without you."

Sylvie couldn't help but tear up at his compliment. Feeling bold, she reached out and took his hand in hers. "You know I'll always be here, right?" she asked.

Matt brought their joined hands up toward his face and, watching closely for her reaction, brushed a kiss on her fingers. With his free hand, he wiped the tear that had fallen down her cheek. When she leaned into him, he wrapped his arm around her and pressed a kiss to her temple. Sylvie beamed and snuggled closer. The two stayed like that, content to just be in each other's company.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I'm thinking about continuing this story, but wanted to leave it here for now and see what kind of response I get. I hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Something Good

**Disclaimer: disclaimed**

**A/N: Thank you so much for the encouragement! It means a lot, especially since this is my first fic. Thanks again for reading! Without further ado, here's chapter two!**

* * *

As January faded into February, the pair found their friendship becoming something more. Affectionate touches became normal between them as they spent more and more time together after shifts. They eased into their own rhythm, careful to keep it outside of work. They went on small outings after shifts or, more commonly, just hung out at Sylvie's apartment. Cruz had fully moved in with Chloe at the very end of January, which gave Matt and Sylvie easy access to a comfortable space away from prying eyes.

The Tuesday before Valentine's Day, the two of them had agreed to meet at Sylvie's after shift. That afternoon, the two decided to watch a movie. After quick deliberation, they settled on Monty Python's _Life of Brian. _Sylvie grabbed a glass of wine for herself and a beer for Matt. The two laughed until their cheeks hurt.

As the credits rolled, Brett took their empty glasses to the kitchen. Matt's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to check it, finding a message from Severide.

"Hey, Sylvie?" he called over his shoulder.

"What's up?" she asked, setting the glasses on the counter.

"Kelly just messaged me wondering if Kidd could come over tonight since we have to work on Valentine's Day. Would it be alright if I crashed here to give them some space?"

"Of course! Do you need to go get anything before tonight?"

"Nah. I always carry a duffel of extra clothes in my truck."

"Okay. Next order of business, what would you like to do about supper? I could whip something up or we could go somewhere or order out, whichever sounds good to you."

"Let's make something here. I'll help you, then we can figure out what to do with the rest of our night."

"Okay," Sylvie smiled, then jumped into action. Matt soon joined her in the kitchen and they worked in almost perfect tandem.

* * *

After supper, Matt helped Sylvie wash the dishes then went out to his truck while she finished putting them away. When he came back in, she was just coming back into the living room. He tossed his bag beside the couch.

Sylvie had a look on her face. "What?" he asked. "I assume this is okay since I'll be sleeping out here?"

"No, no, no. You can't sleep on _that," _Sylvie laughed, gesturing at the couch. "The two sides have footrests, so there's bars that'll dig into your back all night. Incredibly uncomfortable. Come sleep with me."

Matt's eyes went wide. He stuttered, "C-come what? Okay, uh, are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it."

He smiled at her. "Okay," he said carefully, "but there's one more thing."

"Wh- What's that?" she asked nervously.

"I don't sleep with women I'm not dating," he replied, a playful look in his eyes.

Sylvie let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and smiled. She walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I think we can work with that, don't you?"

Matt grabbed hold of her free hand and intertwined their fingers. Her eyes were searching his, and it was suddenly hard to think. "I- I really like you," he began, "You make me feel alive and happy. Your friendship means the world to me and I don't want to be without it - or you - ever. I want to make this official. I want to see where this goes. Sylvie, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course I will, Matt," she replied, and pulled him into a tight embrace.

They were both beaming at each other when they finally pulled apart. Grabbing her hand once more, Matt picked his bag back up with his free hand, then she lead him to the bedroom.

The two of them took turns changing into pajamas before returning to the living room. They passed the rest of the night watching videos and conversing. Eventually, Sylvie yawned and absently checked the clock on the wall. "Oh my," she said, rubbing her eyes and looking again. "It got late."

Matt glanced at the time. It was nearly midnight. "Are you wanting to go to bed?"

"I'm having so much fun out here, but I think I probably should soon."

"Me too. Let's go."

They walked hand in hand to the bedroom. She crawled on to the left side and patted next to her. He sat tentatively. Sylvie furrowed her brow. "Hey - are you okay with this?" she asked. "You seem unsure."

"Yeah, I'm okay." He put a hand on her cheek and looked her in the eye. "I just don't want to screw this up, or hurt you, or -"

"Matt," she said softly, leaning her forehead against his, "I trust you." Sylvie closed the distance and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He returned it and pulled her into a hug.

"You are amazing, Sylvie Brett."

"So are you," she whispered back.

The two situated themselves for the night, Sylvie spooned into Matt, his arm draped over her midsection. They easily fell asleep soon after their heads hit their pillows.

* * *

They woke up in a tangle of limbs with the mid-morning sun pouring through the windows. Brett had rolled to face Casey during the night and had her face buried in his shirt. She lazily traced circles on his chest, unsure whether he was awake.

"Mornin'," he said.

"Good morning," she replied, then raised herself up to give him a kiss. "Happy birthday, Matt."

His face lit up. Of course she had remembered. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "Thanks, Sylvie."

"How did you sleep?"

"Good. You?"

"Pretty good," Sylvie mused. "I can't say I've ever had this good of a view waking up."

Matt smirked. "You should see me without the shirt."

She hummed appreciatively at the thought. "So - birthday boy," she said, punctuating her question with kisses along his jawline, "what would you like to do today?"

"Well, that depends," he chuckled. "Have you ever been to Millenium Park?"

"I've passed it, but have never been there. Why?"

"Because, I want to take my girl out for brunch and spend my birthday ice skating with her."

"On one condition," Sylvie said.

"What's that?"

"You let me pay for brunch. It is, after all, _your _birthday."

A huge grin spread across his face. He flipped her onto her back and, kneeling above her, planted a kiss on her lips. "I think I can handle that," he said. "Let's go!"

With that, they got themselves ready for the day and were soon out the door. They spent Matt's birthday, their first official day as a couple out and about, joking around, having fun, and just enjoying each other. This day truly was the beginning of something good - no - something _really_ good.


	3. Singles Awareness Day

**Disclaimer: disclaimed**

* * *

After a full day of ice skating and scavenging Chicago for the perfect cup of hot cider, they came back to Sylvie's apartment hand in hand. They tumbled through the door laughing at Matt's imitation of one particularly inebriated ice skater. Sylvie doubled over from laughing so hard. Matt kept bumping into her, and she couldn't take it anymore.

"M- Matt," she wheezed between laughs, "s-st-stop! It- It hurts! Y- you're - going - to m- make me wet - myself!"

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. Suddenly pulling himself together, he stood up straight and proclaimed, "I'll rescue you!" He threw her over his shoulder and deposited her by the bathroom door before dissolving into laughter once more.

She crawled inside and swung the door shut behind her.

Matt leaned against the wall and let himself sink to the floor. His stomach was beginning to hurt from the laughter, and a smile seemed to be plastered on his face. He took some deep breaths to calm himself, then made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water. He took a swig, then filled another glass for Sylvie. He heard the bathroom door open and he walked over to hand her the glass, which she accepted gratefully and immediately took a long drink.

"Better?" he asked.

She smiled. "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun."

He turned to face her and made a grand gesture of bowing. "It was my pleasure."

Sylvie tried to stop it, but the drink she'd just taken flew straight back out as she was overtaken by another fit of laughter. She looked at Matt to say something, but he had a surprised look on his face and his shirt had a wet trail down it from the spit-take, and Sylvie forgot what she was going to say and laughed even harder.

After a couple minutes, the two managed to stop laughing again. Taking a long, slow breath, Sylvie said, "Oh, Matt, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to give you a shower."

"It's okay, I probably needed it," he said, his eyes sparkling. He pulled his shirt off and used it to dry a couple of spots on his skin. When he looked up again, she was staring at him. "What? Didn't you believe what I said this morning about the view being better?"

"I - I did," she managed, raking her eyes over his well-toned chest. "Just, wow," she said.

Sylvie closed the small distance between them, tentatively placing her hands on his chest.

Matt put one hand on her hip and the other behind her head. He pulled her close and fused their lips together.

When they parted, she slid her hands around to his back rested her head on his shoulder, holding him close.

After a few moments, Matt spoke. "So," he asked, "how do we want to handle this when we go to work Friday?"

Sylvie released him from the hug, sliding her hands down his arms to grab his hands. "You know I'm awful at keeping secrets. I'm a little surprised Stella and Emily haven't been more on my case than they were before we started exploring this."

"Fair enough. Severide has asked me about where I'm spending so much time lately, so he might think something's up, but I told him I was just trying to give him and Kidd more space and he didn't press the issue."

"Okay, how about this: we try to keep this out of work because it's good practice, but if anyone asks, we can tell them."

"Sounds good to me, but we should probably tell Chief at the beginning of next shift," he said.

Sylvie nodded in agreement. She released one of his hands and the two of them walked the short distance to the living room, taking a seat on the couch.

Matt tossed his shirt over the back of a chair and continued, "Next question: When Gabby and I were together, we got in an argument because she thought that I was being too protective of her on calls. Do we want to define boundaries there?"

"Do we need to?"

"I don't know. You know I care about you, so I'm going to worry a little bit, but I also know you. I know you're confident and you're smart and you can hold your own. If you tell me you're okay, I'm going to trust that unless there's something I see that would change it."

"In that case, you'd explain that, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Sounds good. As for you, I'll always be nervous when you're in a building, but I trust your judgement. You didn't make it all the way to Captain by making bad decisions. If you get hurt, you know I'll be outside waiting to take care of you." She paused, thinking. "Any other workplace boundaries we need to set?"

He thought about it, then shook his head. "I don't think so. Anything else you can think of?"

She thought for a moment, then asked, "It would be a good idea to keep using last names in front of others, yes?"

He nodded in agreement. "Yes. Now that we have that settled," he said, "how would you like to spend the rest of our time together?"

"We should probably do something about your shirt situation," she laughed.

Matt shrugged and glanced over at the chair he'd draped his shirt over. "We've been talking long enough. It might be dry."

* * *

Later that day, Matt and Sylvie stopped by the apartment he shared with Severide. They didn't see Kelly's car, so he and Kidd were probably gone, but Sylvie waited in the truck while Matt went to get more clothes. They soon returned to Sylvie's apartment and made supper. That night and most of the next day was spent learning about each other's lives before they met and bringing up old stories from 51. When it got to be about 9 o'clock Thursday night, they took turns getting through the shower and went to bed, setting an alarm for 5:30 the next morning.

* * *

Since Matt was planning on going back to his apartment the next day, he and Sylvie drove to work separately. They knew Boden got there early most days, so they made sure to arrive half an hour before shift so they could talk to him without others seeing them.

Conveniently, they were walking toward the firehouse when he pulled up.

"Good morning, Casey, Brett," Boden greeted.

"Good morning," they replied.

"Chief, do you have a second?" Matt asked, waiting for Boden to catch up to them.

"What's on your mind?"

"Sylvie and I just wanted to make you aware that we're together now. We talked about it over the last couple days and we promise to keep it professional here, but we wanted you to know."

"I appreciate that. I'm happy for the two of you. Take care of each other, and you know if it becomes an issue you'll have me to answer to."

"Yes, sir," Matt said.

"Absolutely," Sylvie affirmed. "Thanks, Chief."

With that, the three of them continued into the firehouse and got ready for shift. By the time everyone else started filtering in, Casey was in Boden's office and Brett was in the common room reading a magazine.

Kidd walked in and made a beeline for the coffee machine. Once she had a piping hot mug full, she took a seat beside Sylvie at the table. "So," she asked groggily, gesturing at the magazine, "what's the latest gossip?"

"Oh, you know," Sylvie responded dully, "everyone's breaking up or offering health tips when, in reality, everyone is still together and the 'health tips' only work if you're rich enough for plastic surgery." She smirked at her friend and took a sip out of the half-empty mug in front of her.

Stella smiled knowingly. "Isn't that the truth," she asked rhetorically, taking another long drink from her mug.

Sylvie tossed the magazine to the side. "You look rough this morning."

"Well," she said, a small grin coming across her face, "Kelly and I didn't get much sleep the last couple of days."

"That explains it," Sylvie laughed.

"Ah, you young 'nes," Herrmann said, walking in with Mouch close behind him. "I remember when Cindy and I were your age. Now we've got 5 kids."

Stella and Sylvie shared a look. Casey and Severide walked in after meeting with Boden. Severide, having heard Herrmann's last comment, laughed. "As fun as that sounds, we'll leave the parenting chaos to other people."

Stella nodded her agreement. "Kids are cute, but this girl needs her beauty rest."

"As if you're getting that now," Foster retorted, grabbing coffee and taking a seat with everyone else.

Stella shrugged off her comment and went for a refill.

"Speaking of," Foster said when Kidd sat back down, "What are you two doing after shift? I was thinking about going out and taking advantage of Single's Awareness Day."

"Even though it'll be the day after?" Sylvie asked.

"Sure. Why not?" Foster asked.

Kidd pitched in, "Because I'm not single?"

"Well, then you can help me and Sylvie find good partners."

Sylvie smiled shyly into her coffee, then took a quick drink, trying to hide behind the mug.

"WAIT!" Stella exclaimed. "There's something you're not telling us."

Sylvie tried to look confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Stella opened her mouth to argue, but the bells went off, paging everyone to a car accident.

"This isn't over," Stella said, pointing at Sylvie as they all ran out to their rigs.

* * *

**A/N: Right now, I'm planning at least two more chapters for this story, but it could be more. I don't have a consistent schedule since I'm in uni and my workload varies, but I'm hoping to have Ch. 4 up by the weekend. As always, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Cat's Out of the Bag

**Disclaimer: disclaimed.**

* * *

A few hours later, everyone was back at the station. As soon as Brett and Foster returned from dropping a patient off at Med, they started working on inventory. Kidd came over when she finished cleaning her gear.

"So," she said, giving Brett a pointed look, "Spill."

She and Foster looked at Brett expectantly.

"Okay, fine," Brett laughed, "What is it, exactly, that you want to know?"

"Well," Stella began, "Casey wasn't at the apartment at all the last couple of days, and you were hesitant about going boy shopping. I think that you and he -" she trailed off, waiting for Sylvie to fill in the blanks.

Sylvie shrugged, and tried her best to sound innocent. "He just asked if he could crash at my place since you and Severide were celebrating Valentine's Day early."

"And?" Foster asked, digging for more.

"And I said he could," Brett responded, fighting the smile creeping onto her face.

"Girl, we _know _there's something you're not telling us, just spill it already!" Stella encouraged.

"And we talked and he asked me to be his girlfriend." Sylvie was beaming as she finished, "and I said yes!"

Stella and Emily squealed and sandwiched their friend into a hug.

"I am _so_ happy for you, partner. You two deserve each other!" Emily exclaimed.

"You make sure he treats you right, or he'll have us to answer to," Stella said, even though they all knew there was nothing to worry about. Casey was as good of a man as any woman could ever hope for. "I'm happy for you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Severide had gone looking for Casey and found him in his office. He knocked, and Casey looked up from his paperwork.

"Hey, Severide, what's up?"

"You haven't been at the apartment since last shift."

Matt shrugged. "Well, you told me that Kidd was coming over. I was just giving you two some space."

"Yeah, but where the hell did you go for three nights?"

"Brett let me crash at her place," Casey said casually.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Severide responded, incredulous. "_You_ were with _Brett_ for two and a half _days_ and I'm just hearing about it now?"

"From the looks of you two this morning, you were a bit - preoccupied."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "we were." He smiled at his friend, "But you're just trying to distract me. What happened between you and Brett?"

"We're together," Matt conceded.

Severide beamed, "I knew it! I'm happy for you, man!" He slapped Casey on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Severide," Casey said. "I hate to be rude, but if that's all, I should probably keep working on this report before we get called back out."

"Yeah, that's it," Severide replied. "See you later."

At that, Severide made his way back to the common room. On his way, he ran into Stella.

"Hey," he said, grabbing her attention, "You will never guess what I just found out."

The two of them stepped into a corner before she responded, "That Brett and Casey are dating?"

"What? How did you know?"

"Brett just told me."

"Well, it's about damn time they got together."

"I know, right? They both deserve to be happy. They'll be so good for each other."

"Maybe we'll have the place to ourselves more often now."

Stella hummed appreciatively. The two shared a smile and a quick kiss before going the rest of the way to the common room.

* * *

Firehouse 51 had a busy morning with very little time between calls. By four in the afternoon, they were all hungry and tired. Rather than cooking, they decided to call in some pizzas and keep it simple. While they were waiting, Matt retreated to his office to start working on reports.

After Brett and Foster double checked their inventory and got everything restocked, they went to the bunk room. Foster went to her bunk to try to catch a nap before lunch. Sylvie saw Matt in his office and lightly knocked.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"I was looking for a quiet place to work on paperwork. Mind if I join you?"

"No, please. You can work wherever."

"Thanks." She gave him a small smile and sat on the bunk. "Also, I thought I'd let you know that Foster and Kidd figured us out already."

"I'm not surprised," Matt said, "Severide got it, too."

Sylvie giggled, "I guess it's only a matter of time until everyone else finds out, then."

"Yeah," Matt agreed, "but that's not necessarily a bad thing."

"No, it's not."

They shared a smile, then returned to their paperwork until Kidd came to let them know the pizza had arrived.

After everyone miraculously had time to scarf down a couple slices of pizza, the bells went off again, and it was back-to-back calls until the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. Overnight, they stayed busy with the increased Valentine's Day traffic. By the time shift ended, everyone was thoroughly beat. Matt spotted his girlfriend by the lockers as they were getting ready to head out.

"You look beat," he said, but she didn't look at him. "Hey," he said a little louder, "Brett."

"What?" she turned to look at him.

"I said you look beat."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Come home with me. We can come back for your car later. Or I can drive you home. Whatever you want."

Sylvie looked as though she wanted to argue, but decided against it. "You live closer. If you're sure it's okay if I come over."

"Of course," he said, then the two of them walked out to Matt's truck.

They arrived at Casey and Severide's apartment fifteen minutes later. They dragged themselves through the front door and Sylvie made her way to the couch, but Matt caught her by the arm. "No you don't," he said, "I have a nice, comfortable bed. There's no way I'm letting you sleep on the couch." He looked her in the eye, "plus, I've gotten used to cuddling with you the last three nights. I don't want to deprive myself now."

Sylvie smiled sleepily up at him and took his hand. "Lead the way, Captain."

He returned her smile and lead her to his bedroom. Within minutes, they'd fallen asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

Casey woke up around 5 PM. Sylvie's head was on his chest, her left arm and leg thrown over the rest of him. He was totally enamored by her. As loathe as he was to disturb her, he was hungry and knew she probably was too. He burrowed his face into her hair and kissed her forehead. She hummed and he kept kissing around the top of her head until she raised her face to his. He gave her a quick peck on the nose. She smiled and pulled him in for a proper kiss. They lingered there, each entranced by the other, their eyes dancing over each other's face.

"Hey," she said sweetly.

"Hi," he whispered back.

"What time is it?"

"A little after five," he said. "I didn't want to wake you, but I thought you might want some supper, then maybe we could go get your car."

"Okay," she said, giving him a quick squeeze and a peck on the cheek.

With that, the two of them headed out for the night. After dropping Sylvie off at her car, Matt never made it back home. Instead, he followed Sylvie to her apartment and stayed the night with her.

* * *

**A/N: As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to let me know what you think!**


	5. Next Steps

**Disclaimer: disclaimed.**

* * *

March and April passed in a blur. There wasn't a single night the two didn't spend together. Matt's wardrobe made his way to Sylvie's a few outfits at a time. By the first week of May, only Matt's furniture remained at Severide's apartment. Unless Matt had a construction gig after shift, they rode to work together and they usually went to Molly's after. Occasionally, they'd just go home and enjoy each other's company, but they tried to avoid doing that too much since they saw each other at work and they all but lived together. Early on, they'd discussed the importance of time apart. Each had known the significance from previous relationships, but they liked to talk things out. There were far fewer miscommunications between the two of them than either of them had gotten into with previous partners.

* * *

When Mother's Day came around, both of them took a week off and drove to Fowlerton to spend time with Sylvie's family. Matt wasn't nearly as nervous as he could have been meeting her parents. He supposed that, being forty, he was too old for that now. Regardless, he didn't need to be worried. Sylvie's parents welcomed him with open arms. On the drive home, they were laughing about some ridiculous soap opera Sylvie's mom had been watching. They stopped off in Lafayette to get gas and some lunch. When they got back in the truck, Sylvie asked, "So, how rich do you think we would be now if we got a dollar every time my parents hinted at wanting grandchildren.?"

Matt chuckled. "They do realize we've only been together a few months, right?"

"Well, at least we know they approve of you," Sylvie said.

Matt reached for her hand that was resting on the center console and intertwined their fingers. "You'll make a great mom someday. I just hope you keep me around long enough to see it."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she replied earnestly.

Matt flashed a smile at her. "Someday," he said.

"Speaking of someday," Sylvie said after a beat, "You know I don't want to rush this, but it seems like you're always over at my place, and you have a lot of clothes there, too. Do you want to just move in, officially?"

"I think I could handle that." He gave her hand a squeeze and the two shared a smile.

The rest of the drive home passed quickly, the two of them making plans for when Matt could officially move. They decided to use his bedroom set, as his queen bed allowed more space than her full size, and Sylvie was completely enamoured by the dresser Casey had built for himself nearly a decade prior. They decided to make the move the following weekend.

* * *

Matt was first to wake up the morning after the move. They didn't have to go to work that day, but they were planning on going out with Kidd and Severide that night. The two had helped Matt move out, and the four had talked and decided to set up a monthly double date night. He felt Sylvie begin to stir and placed a kiss on her cheek. She hummed her appreciation.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said. "Ready to get up?"

She gave Matt her best puppy dog eyes. "Five more minutes?"

"Well, who could argue with that face?" he asked. "As if your wish weren't already my command."

Sylvie smiled and pulled him back in for another kiss. When they broke apart, she said, "You are an _incredibly_ charming man, Matt Casey."

Matt smiled. "Is it too soon to say I love you?"

The question caught Brett off guard. Her heart leaped into her throat and, for a brief moment, she was speechless.

Matt, suddenly self-conscious, began backtracking, "Of- of course it is, you can just ignor-"

Sylvie cut him off, pressing a finger against his lips. She situated herself so she could look him in the eye. "It's not too early if you truly mean it," she said.

"Well then," Matt said, swallowing hard, "I love you, Sylvie Brett."

She beamed at him, and her smile lit up the room. "I love you too," she said, then captured his lips with her own.

He wrapped her in his arms and they held each other tight until they eventually decided to get up for the day.

* * *

By the time Sylvie's birthday came a month later, Casey was overwhelmed. He'd had a number of ideas and had asked Foster, Kidd and Severide for their input. He wanted to make sure it was perfect. As he'd told the others: Brett only deserves the best, and he'd be damned if he couldn't provide that for her. They had to work the day before her birthday, which was a Saturday, so some of his ideas were nixed solely because many places weren't open on Sundays. Luckily, their family at 51 was eager to help out with a bigger celebration the day before.

Severide and Kidd took point on the dessert, deciding to get her a giant ice cream cake after they saw one at the grocery store. Foster put herself in charge of some decorations for the common room, and Gallo and Ritter put their heads together for supper ideas, since they were on kitchen duty anyway.

The morning before her birthday, Casey intentionally took his sweet time getting ready for shift. He wanted to make sure everyone else got to the firehouse before them. Unfortunately for him, Sylvie seemed to be moving faster than usual that morning. Fifteen minutes before they normally left, she was ready to go.

He tried to stall, but she was starting to become annoyed. He decided it was better to keep her happy and possibly not get the full force of the surprise than to be successful with the surprise and have her be in a foul mood.

When they got out to work twenty minutes later, however, he realized he needn't have worried. There was a fifteen-minute-old text from Severide saying everyone was ready.

When they walked into the common room, a chorus erupted as everyone said, "Happy Birthday, Brett!"

Sylvie beamed. She turned and gave Matt a playful smack on the chest. "So this is why you were being a slow poke this morning!"

He gave her a small smile. "Guilty as charged," he said, and he pressed a kiss into her temple. "Happy early birthday, Sylvie."

Foster and Kidd sandwiched their friend in a hug. Kidd said, "We know your birthday isn't until tomorrow, but it's a lot harder to decorate and surprise someone at the end of shift."

"You won't hear me complain. Thanks, guys," Sylvie responded, squeezing her two friends, then making her way around the rest of the firehouse giving hugs.

Just then, the bells went off. "Another reason to celebrate early," Matt said. "Let's go, everyone!" At that, they all responded to the building fire.

Calls came in steadily the rest of the morning, but slowed down after noon. The crew at 51 was able to gather around and not rush their way through supper. Afterward, Emily walked over to Sylvie and put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "We have one more surprise for you, partner," she said.

Sylvie raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What's that?"

Foster made way for Severide and Kidd to set the cake, which now had flaming candles on it, in front of Sylvie.

Sylvie's jaw dropped as she stared at it. "This is huge!" she exclaimed.

"What are you waiting for?" Herrmann asked, "Blow out the candles. We want a piece of that!"

Sylvie laughed, then obliged. Everyone cheered, then large pieces of cake were distributed.

After everyone had their fill, the little bit of leftover cake was put in the freezer, and almost everyone went to the bunkroom to rest.

Sylvie went into Matt's office to finish her reports from the earlier calls. When she was done, she stole his bunk while he wrapped up his paperwork. When he finished, he shut off his desk lamp and curled himself around her, nuzzling into her hair and placing a kiss on her neck.

She snuggled tighter into him, and the two fell asleep like that.

* * *

On the drive home after shift, Matt asked, "What would you like to do the rest of the day?"

"You didn't have a full day of surprises up your sleeve?"

"That would be telling," he chuckled. They rolled to a stop at a red light and looked her in the eye. He leaned over and kissed her. "I just want to make your birthday special."

"It's already special because I have you," she replied. She reached over the console and put her hand on his knee.

He took her hand in his and they drove the rest of the way home in companionable silence.

* * *

When they got home, they dropped their bags and coats in the closet and made their way to the bedroom to change. Matt pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it toward the laundry basket. As he was making his way to the bathroom, Sylvie grabbed his arm, pulling herself flush against him and running her hands over his bare chest. "I just thought of something I'd like to do today," she purred. She gave him a gentle push and he let himself fall onto their bed. She crawled on top of him and situated herself so her face was mere millimeters from his.

Eyes wide, Matt cautiously asked, "Are you sure?"

"I want this," Sylvie replied confidently, but, seeing his uncertainty, she pulled back and softly asked, "Don't you?"

Matt swallowed hard. He had to be honest with her, although he knew he was ruining the moment. "I'm afraid I'm going to screw this up."

Sylvie's face fell, and she rolled off of him, sitting on the edge of the bed. She folded her arms in front of her and stared at the floor.

Matt sat up and angled himself toward her. "Sylvie," he said softly. When she didn't respond, he said, "Sylvie, baby, look at me."

She glanced at him without moving her head.

Matt sighed. He'd just have to hope she was listening. "I-It was just so hard when Gabby left. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with her and then she just. . . went. I kept telling myself that she would come back, that she had to come back," Matt was having a hard time keeping a steady voice, "but then the only thing that came was signed divorce papers." He could feel tears threatening to fall as Sylvie finally turned to meet his eyes. "First Hallie, then Gabby, and I just, I can't go through that again, Sylvie. I can't survive losing someone else I love." He couldn't go on, letting himself cry, waiting for some sort of response.

Sylvie pulled him close to her, rubbing circles on his back as he cried on her shoulder. She felt her eyes tearing up, and she bit her lip, trying to quell them. She felt his pain, among some of her own. She had never known Hallie, but she knew what he went through when Gabby left for Puerto Rico. Sure, they'd been friends before, but his wife and her best friend leaving like she did really brought them together. That's how they found themselves here.

After a few minutes, the tears had subsided. He pulled back a little and ran his hands down her arms, taking her hands in his, giving them a gentle squeeze. Their eyes locked as he tried to find his voice again. "Sylvie, if we do this, there's no going back."

"Matt," she said softly, searching his eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek, "I love you, more than anyone or anything else in the world. You're my best friend, and I'm not going to leave you. Ever." She took a deep breath. "If you aren't ready for this, that's okay, but if this is something you want and you're just scared that it's too soon, know that I'm ready. I'm here for the long haul and it's going to take a lot more than having sex to scare me away. I'm not leaving you. I promise."

Their eyes searched each other for a few moments before Matt pulled Sylvie onto his lap and gently brushed his lips against hers. She began to lean backward, not wanting to pressure him, but he pulled her right back in, planting another kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around him, one hand sliding to the back of his head as she deepened it. Each found the other completely intoxicating. Soon, kisses became more desperate and they knew they couldn't stop now, so they didn't, and they spent the rest of the morning fulfilling the promise that they were in this thing together, forever.

* * *

**A/N: Aaand that's the end of this story! ****I have more ideas in store for these two, but that will be another story, as I'm not inclined to writing marathons. ****Thanks so much for y'all's continued support and, as always, feel free to let me know what you think! **


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